Running head: MEXICAN IMMIGRATION AND ECONOMY 1

Interethnic Relations: Mexican Immigration and the American Economy

Logan Schanie

University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee

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Abstract

The goal of this analysis is not only to solidify understanding of the various sociological views

that have been discussed throughout the semester, but also to have a multifaceted discussion on

how they are used to interpret concrete situations and realities. In this paper the facts of

immigration from Mexico, both legal and illegal, and their impacts upon society and the

economy will first be delineated as it is important to have a proper place from which to start this

analysis. Thereafter, the following six sociological views will be first explained, then discussed

as they pertain to the topic: Neo-Marxism, Functionalism, Symbolic Interactionism, Rational

Choice Theory (RCT), Elite Theory and Neo-Weberian Theory. Last, a short discussion on how

each of the sociological views work and can be adapted.

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Interethnic Relations: Mexican Immigration and the American Economy

The United States and Mexico have shared, for many years, a unique economic

relationship, and through understanding the countries economics, one can begin to understand

the vast immigration that the United States has received from Mexico over the past 100 years

until just recently. The economic divergence that is found between the United States and Mexico

is not found in any other bordering countries in the world (Schaefer, p.257). This issue stems

back to around the time of World War I when America also happened to be bolstering the

business of agriculture in the Southwest. At the same time, the Mexican revolution that lasted

thirteen years resulted in Mexican refugees flooding into the United States and were welcome as

workers due to the lack of European immigration caused by the effects of WWI. Even after the

Mexican revolution had ended, the tumultuous political situation in Mexico still swayed many to

migrate to the United States where there was the rising business of agriculture.

The businesses of agriculture in the Southwest, however, knew exactly what they were

doing by using Mexican immigrant workers. They pulled strings with wealthy Mexican

businesspeople to keep only as little money and jobs in Mexico not to collapse their economy

entirely and as well maximize their own profits off the cheap labor that was received from the

immigrants, and if they were undocumented they could have them “dismissed” once the point

arrived in which they were of no more use (Schaefer, p.257).

The Great Depression soon arrived and in America’s attempt to relieve any additional

economic pressures, many Mexicans were deported under repatriation. The legality of this was

rather questionable, as repatriation only applies to illegal aliens, though in the endeavor to not

add more stress to the economy it was not only Mexicans who were here illegally that were

deported. After the United States regained its footing and moved into the 1940s, the agriculture
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industry once again began seeking Mexican workers. In 1942, the two governments derived a

plan called braceros to contract Mexican laborers into America and gave them provisions

through the government with regard to their pay, transportation and housing. The unfortunate

irony in the whole situation is that they were often better taken care of than the Mexican

Americans with whom they also worked. Then, in 1954, the American government began

deporting more and more immigrants that attempted to cross the border at the Rio Grande, whilst

also bringing in Mexicans through the braceros program. By 1964 that program had ended and

due to the lack of easy legal entrance into the United States, illegal immigration became far more

prominent.

Illegal immigration from Mexico has been a much politized topic many years since and

has created a disconnect and level of animosity between both ethnic groups regardless of legal

status in the United States. Mexican Americans often receive mistreatment from law

enforcement and scrutiny by means of racial profiling and blame for the state of the American

economy (Schaefer, p.130,259). This results in many stuck in low wage jobs without means of

advancing economically in the society. Also, to note is the recent decline in immigration from

Mexico as per Gonzalez-Barrera and Krogstad at the Pew Research Center (2017); this is due

primarily to the lack of jobs available after the recession. Though Mexicans still make up 28% of

the United States immigrants and approximately 52% of the 11.1 million undocumented

immigrants, the number of Mexicans living in the U.S. illegally declined by over 1 million

between the years 2007 and 2014. They are also prone to remaining in the country as long term

residents as 78% of unauthorized Mexican immigrants had lived in the country for over ten years

as of 2014 (Gonzalez-Barrera & Krogstad, 2017).

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Mexican immigration in the United States differs quite drastically from that of most other

immigrants coming from other countries. The closeness in proximity between the U.S. and

Mexico allows for a continued connection and relationship between Mexican migrants and their

home (Schaefer, p.257). This is where problems on the Mexican side of immigration can arrive.

This closeness allows them to remain connected to the cultural norms and language of their

home country, which causes an unintentional struggle to assimilate to the norms of the United

States and learn English.

Sociological Analysis

Under the proper understanding of the history and current information regarding

immigration from Mexico, the analyses of the situation of the sociological views will be

discussed.

Neo-Marxism

The ideas of Neo-Marxism in relation to Mexican workers in the United States and the

economy are best demonstrated by Oliver Cox and Edna Bonacich. In classical Marxist theory,

class is prioritized over ethnicity. Cox follows suit in this thought and charges that capitalism

merely uses racial studies as a means to exploit the proletariat. He too maintains that capitalist

societies, though specifically the US, drive a wedge between ethnicities that creates a class

barrier along “ethnic lines” (Malesevic, p. 32). Furthermore, capitalism exploits the work of the

proletariat to further the wealth of the already bourgeois. This exploitation however is dependent

upon animosity toward ethnic groups, which is stated by Cox in this way “Racial antagonism is

part and parcel of this class struggle … The interest behind racial antagonism is an exploitative

interest – the peculiar type of economic exploitation characteristic of capitalist society … We can
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understand the Negro problem only in so far as we understand their position as workers”

(Malesevic, p. 32). What is being said here is that the ethnic animosity is done purely with the

intention to undermine the low-wage workers, not just specific groups. Under this thinking, the

cohesion of class is viewed as far more important to progress than an ethnic or racial status,

which results in the idea that those are no longer of modern economic importance. Regarding

Mexican immigration, this demonstrates the issues that many Mexican immigrants faced during

the 20th century. They were exploited by the agriculture businesses in the Southwest and

employers used their leverage and knowledge of legal status to pay the workers lower wages.

Keep in mind, in the 1930s Mexicans were often being deported no matter their legal status in

the U.S. under repatriation.

Edna Bonacich echoes Cox’s theory by changing the way in which capitalist societies

maintain a monopoly over the proletariat in “multi-ethnic” societies. Cox’s theory states that the

people at the top use animosity as an artificial governor of the people, whereas Bonacich

maintains that people are put to work under certain like conditions. She divides the conditions

into three categories: the business owners/entrepreneurs (capitalists – dominant ethnicity), the

already working and better paid (workers – dominant ethnicity) and those whom are either

underpaid or still pursuing employment (workers – minority ethnicity). By dividing workers by

ethnicity and wage it becomes more difficult for the ethnic minorities to climb the economic

latter. This division is still seen in the unauthorized Mexican immigrant workforce today. Since

2009 after the recession had ended, unauthorized immigrants in the work force has been steady

hovering around or just above 5 million (Passel & Cohn, 2016). In sum, undocumented

immigrant workers populate approximately 5% of the workforce in the U.S.; however, they

occupy 17% of the workforce in the agricultural industry and 13% in the construction industry
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(Passel & Cohn, 2016). What these industries have in common is that they are often high-

demanding physical jobs that do not pay well for the labor given.

Functionalism

In functionalism described by Durkheim, culture would become more important than

ethnic differences among groups. As societies modernize and swing from agrarian to industrial,

he charges that ethnicity would become less relevant than merit based achievements in society.

He looks less at the ascribed markers of particular people and instead looks more at how people,

though perhaps of differing ethnicity, can find social solidarity through economic status.

Furthermore, he asserts that people will work for what is in their best interest and interact in

ways that move them forward economically, without regard to ethnicity. For example, all people

will receive some education to ensure economic security and specialize to further their own self-

interests. This is where classic functionalism fails in accuracy, the prediction that merit would

become more important than ethnicity simply – though unfortunately – takes precedence.

Immigrants are here for economic security and will specialize for their own self-interests;

however, they are commonly restrained from making much economic process due to nothing

more than ethnicity.

Immigration relations in functionalism have effect(s) that are three-fold: manifest, latent

and dysfunction. In the United States, we have many immigrants that are here to fill our lack of

science, math and technology students. They come to work for companies that need their skills

yet do not have the available talent to pull from our own citizens. This, in some regard, is a

dysfunction in our society, though the immigration and use of people from other countries is

manifest in solving the current problem quickly. This does not differ from the position of

Mexican immigrants in the U.S. filling hard labor positions that are not as easily occupied by our
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own naturalized citizens that are in the work force. Furthermore, if we do not use them in the

workforce and welcome them into our country there will be many latent qualities that we will

lack from their Mexican heritage. For example, their foods and music that permeate the U.S. and

transcend the ethnic boundary.

Symbolic Interactionism

Every people group has symbols that can be interpreted about them, be it the language

that they speak, their religion, clad, etc. The interaction of these symbols is what creates the

ethnic boundaries between given groups. These symbols are then used to distinguish between the

groups; for example, if one is out and sees a woman wearing a hijab or a man speaking Arabic,

they would most likely be identified as a Muslim individual. If that is contrasted against the sight

of a man wearing a sombrero and singing Mariachi, it would be assumed that he is Mexican.

These dress and language distinctions (symbols) that are identified through interaction draw the

line that separates distinct ethnic groups.

Thomas is concerned with the definition of situations and how different groups define

and respond to them. He states, “if men define situations as real, they are real in their

consequences” (Malesevic, p.63). Mexican immigrants will define their situation as necessary;

they must have the job in America to send money home for their family to have the ability to

survive. The antithesis of this and the definition of this situation by the American proletariat, is

that jobs in the U.S. are being occupied by people who are not from this country, are not citizens,

and even perhaps are not here legally. This creates a level of misunderstanding resulting in

animosity from both sides.

Rational Choice Theory

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Rational choice theory emphasizes individualism and charges that people are selfish,

greedy and in that way, inalterable. There are two questions that RCT addresses that are: “How

do individuals make their choices? And how are society and collective action possible if

everybody acts as a selfish individual?” (Malesevic, pg.97). In answer to the first question Elster

gives three elements with regard to the choice situation: (1) A feasible set of all courses of action

that are rationally believed to satisfy various ‘outside’ constraints, (2) A set of rational beliefs

about the causal structure of the situation that controls the courses of action as well as their

outcomes, and (3) The subjective ranking of the feasible alternatives (often deduced from a

ranking of the outcomes to which they are expected to lead) (Malesevic, p.97). In short,

individuals will act in a manner that they think will result in overall value for themselves. This is

exactly what Mexican immigrants are doing and it is not by any means different from a family

moving within the U.S. to pursue another (better) job opportunity. Their country lacks the

economic stability that they need to provide for their family, thus they take the next best option.

As for the second question, individuals will act altruistically and integrate into situations where

there will be a net gain for all who are involved.

The rational choice theory is used within ethnicities as well. In this case, however, people

often use their distinctive physical demarcations to advantage themselves individually. For

example, when their ethnicity is being in some way threatened, one will accentuate the

importance of theirs over the others. Ethnic identity is something that becomes important in this

area. In fact, it is common that people will alter their ethnic identity as a manner of making

themselves more relevant. A Mexican American speaking with another American under this

theory will be sure to emphasize his or her Mexicanness, even speaking with fellow Latinos from

countries outside of Mexico, the same will apply. However, when speaking with other Mexicans
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the opposite becomes true and they will accentuate their Americanness. Though, one’s ethnicity

is largely irrelevant when used in the individual sense under rational choice theory; instead, it

holds far greater value in a collective choice by a given group.

Elite Theory

Elite theory has interesting uses of ethnicity for its own political advances. In fact,

ethnicity among elites is little more than a political piece. To start, elites find themselves as a

rather heterogeneous group that is often at war with each other to maintain power; though, they

find that minority and ethnic groups are homogeneous in nature and operate in infantile fashions.

They use pieces of ethnicity to advance their political agenda. They push ideology that creates a

false sense of consciousness by the non-elites. This new reality promotes a level of solidarity

among them, which benefits the elites. The new social reality ensures that the proletariat will not

rise against the elitists and attempt a coup. This is easily achieved by pushing false narratives

that eventually become reality for many. Even by Marx ethnicity was viewed as having little

actual importance. For example, his view of defeating capitalism is by groups identifying their

class and working to better themselves from that standpoint rather than an ethnic one.

Brass’ view on ethnicity in politics among elites applies itself accurately to the current

situation of Latinos in the United States. In short, what he states is that ethnicities and their

culture are broken down into a few specific symbols or markers that identify them. An example

of this symbol is language. In the U.S., the deduction that if you speak Spanish then you must be

“Mexican” (Hispanic) is unfortunately rather common. This reduction of information from an

ethnicity to a single symbol is often what elites can use to motivate that specific group, though.

For example, if we look at Marco Rubio, even though he is a republican who almost always

receive less support than democrats from Latino voters, his Cuban heritage and ability to speak
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Spanish give him an edge over his republican colleagues. Even if we look at Tim Kaine, who,

though not of Hispanic heritage, can speak Spanish, used this ability during the campaign to help

grow support for Hillary Clinton among Latinos. She did win the majority of Latino voters at

66% while Donald Trump only had 28% of their vote (Krogstad, 2016). The silver lining in this

is that people like Marco Rubio can use this to their advantage to win over Hispanic voters and

he, and people like him, give Latinos the ability to have their concerns heard from both sides of

the aisle.

Neo-Weberian Theory

Neo-Weberian Theory is, unlike many modern sociological theories, an extension of

Weber’s work rather than a re-articulation thereof (Malesevic, p.137). Randall Collins ideas

regarding ethnic groups and somatotypes, however, bring an interesting look at the Mexican

immigration scenario. About ethnic groups he states, “conflict creates the framework that is

projected backward into a primordial past. An ethnic group is not merely, or even primarily, a

community that shares a common culture and identity. Its identity is constituted by dividing

lines, by contrast with others” (Malesevic, p.133). This reigns true under the discussion of

Mexican immigration in the sense that Mexicans are recognized as a distinct group through the

line created by the American and Mexican American working classes. Collins also discusses

somatotypes, which are socially constructed markers, language being one of the most important

of these. The markings, however, are significant in their geo-political and historical contexts.

The Spanish language dominating over the languages of the Aztecs and Mayans during the

colonialization of Mexico is an example of a geo-historical occurrence that influences a people

group today.

Multidimensional Analysis
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Each of the sociological views chosen are not done so that they explicitly describe the

situation of Mexican Immigration perfectly or that of how the economy forces Mexicans to use

the Rational Choice Theory. But rather to see if it is possible to extrapolate elements from each

of the views into something cohesive that applies to a current interethnic relationship. It is very

common that modern sociologists redefine what the classic of whichever view meant or update

their logic along the same line of thought. This falls under a similar umbrella of practice where

one must ask themselves, “Does this apply to the situation that I am investigating and if not

entirely, how do elements of this work?”

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References

Gonzalez-Barrera, A., & Krogstad, J. M. (2017, March 02). What we know about illegal

immigration from Mexico. Retrieved April 12, 2017, from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-

tank/2017/03/02/what-we-know-about-illegal-immigration-from-mexico/

Krogstad, J. M. (2016, October 14). Key facts about the Latino vote in 2016. Retrieved March

22, 2017, from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/14/key-facts-about-the-latino-

vote-in-2016/

Malesevic, S. (2004). The sociology of ethnicity. London, England: SAGE Publications Inc.

Passel, J. S., & Cohn, D. (2016, November 03). Size of U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Workforce

Stable After the Great Recession. Retrieved April 12, 2017, from

http://www.pewhispanic.org/2016/11/03/size-of-u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-workforce-

stable-after-the-great-recession/

Schaefer, R. T. (2014). Racial and ethnic groups (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

Education.